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How to get respect in 2018

Over the years I have watched people treat me with a lack of respect and sadly at times I have allowed it. I like to cut people some slack and try and see things from the other side. But sometimes I lost that balance between being kind and being a pushover. I watch it happen to others too. I say 2018 is the year we need to blast a bit of Erasure, speak up and make a change.

Here are some of my tips to get the respect from people that you deserve this year – be it at work, at home or in social situations.

Respect starts behind closed doors

A crazy amount of people struggle with loving themselves. They allow their minds and body to be treated poorly by others and even worse, they push all self-care to the back of their list. As I said the other day – self care is SO underrated.

Self respect means cutting ourselves some slack. Perhaps you think you have great arms but don’t like those abs. Focus on the parts of your body that are strong. Try not to beat yourself up about the parts you are not so fond of. Set goals to become a better, more confident version of yourself and tell that sweet mind to shut it when it starts with the body shaming. It is amazing the confidence exercise and setting new goals will do for you. Tell yourself that you are sexy, loving and fun and believe it. Focus on the things you are good at and work hard to get even better at them. Don’t worry about the things you are not so good at. We don’t have to be good at everything. I think it is better to be amazing at something.

Give Respect

You don’t deserve respect if you don’t give it yourself. Granted, we all have different values but common sense would show that being kind and positive will lead to healthier and happier relationships. To me, the key is to treat all people the same. No matter what status, age, gender. We are all born equal with the same amount of potential in us to do amazing things if we want to.

Judge less

I have found that it is so much better to accept people as they come. Maybe they don’t do things the way you would like but when you respect them regardless, they are way more likely to respect you back.

Know your limits

Granted, sometimes I am happy to cut people some slack when I feel they are acting out of line. As a mental health ambassador and wellness geek, I get that sometimes life can get a bit too heavy at times. For one, stress can make people assholes as I have written about in the past.

Sometimes though we need to speak out. We need to be very clear about what we are willing to accept and what we are not. It can feel uncomfortable to be 100% real and honest with people but it is worth it for your mental well-being.

Just do it

I am not a fan of all talk no action. It can be so hard to achieve our goals though because it takes a whole lot more than motivation. It takes discipline. But things like raising kids, marriage, the marathon and building my own brand have taught me that achieving goals feels so good AND people respect you for getting the head down and bashing on. People respect passion. Some goals can be so hard and they teach us mental strength and determination. Consistency is key and every day if you can do something to get you closer to your goal then it is better than nothing. You may choose the slow and steady winning the race approach or the full guns blazing to get there. It doesn’t matter – what matters is that you try.